The Marine veterans I spoke with tend to view their job as like hunting any predator. ..
1) Predator invades our "chicken coop"..(9/11).
2) Don't wait for 2 or 3 more of such invasions.
3) As with any predator (coyote, wolf, big cat) go to HIS backyard and call the predator to the gun and destroy them.
4) These same Marines told me that they would rather go there and fight/decimate the terrorists, than to have them come here again..and we have to fight them in our towns .
I am old enough to remember WW2.
I don't recall anyone demonstrating in the streets, demanding that we cut and run from the Nazis..or that we back off; and let Emperor Hirohito's war machine hit our homeland again.
When someone has nothing but negative ( and sometimes hateful) things to say about our efforts, leaders and troops and little or nothing to say about our diabolical enemy....
Then I am forced to wonder just which side their loyalties lie upon...
1. The predator comment. I understand it, and would like to agree with it. Here is the problem. First, it assumes the enemy is a dumb animal and is falling into our trap! Although barbaric, the enemy is far from stupid. Keep in mind that a good portion of the worlds top physicians, scientists, and engineers are from Iraq, Saudi, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, etc.... The worst mistake in war is to assume your enemy is not as smart or dedicated as you are. Two, if a coyote digs under the fence to you chicken coop, the first thing you do is secure your chicken coop! You dig better foundations, get a stronger fence, etc..You don't spend night after night in the field and leave the door wide open!!!!!!!!!! Not if it's the chickens you are actually concerned about....Huh.... Third, I've never been a fan of going into the field and killing random coyotes in the hope of taking down the one that poses an eminent threat to me or my farm. You usually wind up with some dead, but dumb coyotes, all the while the survivors are more cunning and better prepared to evade hunters. You trap and kill the ones on your farm and let the ones in the wild kill and eat bunnies. Fourth, look at third. Are we killing a lot of terrorists? Yes. Are we killing the ones that pose a true threat to the US. Probably not many, and we are also MAKING terrorists. The vast majority of the people we are fighting would be going to their day job, shaking their fists in anger at the US across the vastness of half a world for the injustices heaped upon them. Instead, conveniently accessible soldiers are within hours of them and they go to make their dream live and blast their way into heaven. Someone mentioned chess. We are engaging the pawns, those that can only access those in adjoining areas. Meanwhile, we are leaving ourselves wide open to the knights, bishops, queens, and rooks, the real warriors that have the resources to do real damage. The only reason we have not suffered a debilitating attack is that THEY DON"T WANT TO ATTACK US AT THIS TIME. They can sit back and let us make a fool and laughing stock of ourselves in the international community. These are terrorists, not soldiers. They fight not to destroy our military, or invade our country, they fight to change our way of life. Right now they have succeeded in destroying our credibility with other nations, divided our country, and cost us billions (trillions?) of dollars to engage their pawns. Attacking the US again at this time would REVERSE much that they have worked so hard to attain.
WWII is the problem. This is not WWII, which was a sectarian war against a uniformed enemy. This is a jihad. A war of religion against zealots, for the minds of the people. There are no rules of engagement. There is no front. There is no definable enemy. People are still thinking that enough tanks, or soldiers, or bombers will win this war. It will not. Ever try holding the lid down on a boiling pot? You may succeed for a while, but eventually the pot is going to blow and someone is going to get burned.
Luckily, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito had a uniformed army that we could engage and defeat, and feed the American people a steady stream of successes, even if there were occasional defeats. Here there is no map of Europe showing the march to victory. No model of the Pacific showing how many islands are down and how many to go until we reach their homeland. If you remember, there were very few protests against the war in Iraq as long as we were advancing and winning battles and bringing glory home.
I am loyal to America, and what is in America's best interest. I have no loyalty to a President or Administration. I would obey any legal demand he made of me. I agree with about half of his policies. However, he is our leader, not our sovereign, and being able to question his decisions is the difference. As long as his decisions are in America's best interest, I agree. When I don't think they are, I don't. At this point, I don't think our game plan is a strategically successful one (although tactically, it is nearly flawless), therefore I express my opinion. Do not question my Patriotism, for questioning the decisions of our leaders. Remember where we came from.
WylieKy